System and method of printing using mixed paper sizes

ABSTRACT

A system and method of printing involves the use of mixed paper sizes in which the orientation of printing media can be selected to avoid a mixture of paper sheet orientations in the output document when auto tray selection has been selected by a user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 15/278,574,filed Sep. 28, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to printing technology and, moreparticularly, to a printer, method, and program stored in non-transitorycomputer readable medium for printing using mixed paper sizes.

BACKGROUND

Print jobs may have a mixture of sheet sizes, in particular a mixtureletter and legal-sized sheets. Thus, a printer can have trays that storeletter- and legal-size printing media. Print jobs may also include printsettings in which a user may specify how the print job is to be handledby the printer. For example, the user may specify that printing mediafrom a particular tray be used and/or that the output document bestapled at a particular location. In addition, a print job may includesome images that are oriented in portrait mode and others that areoriented in landscape mode. It is desirable for the printer to take intoaccount input sheet sizes, print settings, image orientations, and/orother factors. Also, there is a continuing need to reduce printprocessing time and/or reduce manual labor in possibly having torearrange the orientation of sheets in an output document. A reductionin print processing time and manual labor can be particularly importantin high volume printing operations, for example.

SUMMARY

Briefly and in general terms, the present invention is directed to aprinter, a computer program embodied in a non-transitory computerreadable medium, and a method for printing.

In aspects of the invention, a computer program is embodied on anon-transitory computer readable medium having a computer readableprogram code stored therein for controlling a data processing apparatuscapable of communicating with a printer comprising a first trayconfigured to store letter-sized paper oriented in a long edge feed(LEF) direction, a second tray configured to store letter-sized paperoriented in a short edge feed (SEF) direction, and a third trayconfigured to store legal-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction. Thecomputer readable program code causes the data processing apparatus toexecute a process for submitting a print job to the printer, the processcomprising determining whether an auto tray selection has been set forthe print job, determining whether a staple mode has been set for theprint job, and providing a user notification when it has been determinedthat both the auto-tray selection has been set for the print job and thestaple mode has not been set for the print job, the user notificationindicating that letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction andobtained from the second tray may be used by the printer for the printjob.

The features and advantages of the invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description which should be readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary printer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic internal view of the printer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of exemplary first, second, and thirdtrays of the printer of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic plan views showing walls within any one ofthe trays of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a system having the printer of FIG. 1in communication with an exemplary host data processing apparatus, suchas a host computer.

FIG. 7 is diagram showing an exemplary print setting window.

FIG. 8 is a table showing exemplary processes for tray selection basedin part on input sheet size.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an exemplary mixture of input sheet sizes.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an exemplary output document in which longedges of sheets are misaligned according to Example 6 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an exemplary output document in which longedges of sheets are aligned according to Example 7 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a table showing exemplary image rotation processes that arepossible for Example 7 of FIG. 8.

FIGS. 13A-13C are flow diagrams showing an exemplary process that may beperformed by a printer.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing a modification of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an exemplary query window that may beimplemented for the process of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary process that may beperformed by a host computer or other data processing apparatus incommunication with a printer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an exemplary query window that may beimplemented for the process of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram showing a modification of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the term “printer” encompasses a variety of machinescapable of forming an image on a paper sheet made of fibrous material, atransparent sheet made of acetate, or other type of printing media.Examples of printers include, without limitation, copying machineswherein physical documents are optically scanned to capture images onthe documents so that the images can be duplicated on printing media;laser, inkjet, and other types of printing machines wherein image dataof an electronic file, such as a file from a word processing, graphicsor other type of computer program, is processed for printing ontoprinting media; and a multi-function peripheral (MFP) device having thecombined functions of a copying machine and printing machine.

As used herein, the term “image” encompasses any one or a combination ofphotographs, pictures, illustrations, alphanumeric and linguisticcharacters, symbols, and other graphical representations.

Referring now in more detail to the exemplary drawings for purposes ofillustrating aspects of the invention, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding or like elements among the several views, thereis shown in FIG. 1 exemplary printer 10 in the form of an MFP device. Itis to be understood that the invention may be embodied in or make use ofanother type of MFP device, copy machine, or printing machine.

Printer 10 is capable of handling a print job, which can be one that wassent to printer 10 or be a copy job that involves duplicating a physicaldocument placed by a user on printer 10. A print job can be sent by auser to printer 10 from a data processing apparatus (a host computer,for example) for the purpose of printing an electronic document definedin the print job. As used herein, the term “print job” encompasses anyof a print job that was sent to printer 10 and a copy job.

As shown in FIG. 1, printer 10 comprises display/control panel 11, imagereading assembly 12 for copy jobs, and a plurality of trays 92, 94, 96which can be pulled out of printer housing 98. The trays hold stacks ofprinting media of different sizes and orientations. Printing media isusually in the form of blank sheets of paper.

As shown in FIG. 2, printer 10 further comprises image writing assembly14, image forming assembly 16, printing media conveyance assembly 18,printing media ejection assembly 20 (at the left side of the figure),and printing media reversing assembly 22. These assemblies are describedin turn below.

Image reading assembly 12 reads optical information of one or moreimages on document S. Document S is a physical document a user hasplaced on printer 10. Reading is performed by illuminating document Swith light and converting the optical information into electrical ordigital information. For example, document S may be placed ontransparent platen 30 such that the image on document S faces down onplaten 30. Optical scanning is performed as follows. Light source 32projects light on the image-bearing surface of document S. The lightarriving at the image-bearing surface of document S is reflected ontomirror 34. The light arriving at mirror 34 includes information aboutthe image on document S. Light source 32 and mirror 34 are configured tomove along platen 30, such as by a rail and motor, so that the entireimage-bearing surface of document S can be optically scanned whiledocument S remains stationary on platen 30.

Document S can be a stack of sheets of paper. To handle a stack ofsheets, printer 10 comprises sheet feeding assembly 40 which separatesan individual sheet from the stack of sheets placed on sheet input stand42. Adjacent to sheet input stand 42 are a series of rollers 44, 46 thatpull an individual sheet from the stack of sheets and convey theindividual sheet across slit glass 48. Unlike light source 32 and mirror34, light source 50 and mirror 52 are fixed in position below the slitglass 48. This arrangement allows for continuous optical scanning of theimage-bearing surfaces of the sheets as the sheets move across slitglass 48. Each sheet is ejected to sheet ejection stand 43 after thesheet has been optically scanned.

Document S may also have images on both sides of the sheets, so printer10 may be configured to optically scan both sides of each sheet ifdesired. The sheet is taken from sheet input stand 42 by rollers 44, 46,which convey the sheet to slit glass 48 where one side of the sheet isoptically scanned by light source 50 and mirror 52. After one side hasbeen completely scanned, the sheet is fed out by roller 54 in thedirection of arrow 56. Before reaching the end of the sheet, roller 54reverses direction so that the sheet travels in the direction of arrow57 and is taken up by roller 46 in such a way that the other side of thesheet is passed across slit glass 48, so the other side of the sheet isoptically scanned. Thereafter, the sheet is ejected to sheet ejectionstand 43.

Optical information obtained from light emitted from light sources 32 or50 and reflected from the image-bearing surface of a sheet is capturedby mirrors 34 or 52. The reflected light is guided by additional mirrors35 or 53 through image forming optical system 58 to image pick-up device59, which is configured to convert incoming photons to electron charges.Exemplary image pick-up devices include without limitationcharged-coupled device (CCD) image sensors and complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor active-pixel sensors (CMOS APS). For example,a CCD image sensor may have a photoelectric surface on which a pluralityof pixels is arranged, with each pixel represented by a capacitorconfigured for photoelectric conversion of photons. The opticalinformation defining the image reflected from the image-bearing surfaceof the sheet is received by the pixels, which convert the opticalinformation into electrical information which can then be read out fromthe CCD image sensor. The electrical information from the CCD imagesensor is processed by the printer processor to form image data.Alternatively, image data may be obtained from a print job that is sentto printer 10 by a data processing apparatus, such as a host computer.

Image writing assembly 14 generates electrostatic latent images based onimage data obtained from image reading assembly 12 or a print job. Imagewriting assembly 14 comprises a laser emitter and various mirrorscontrolled by motors for guiding laser beam B to photoreceptor drum 60.The obtained image data are used to control the laser emitter and motor61 which rotates polygon mirror 62. Laser beam B is reflected frompolygon mirror 62 and another mirror 63 onto photoreceptor drum 60.Mirror 63 scans laser beam B along the axis of photoreceptor drum 60 toproduce an electrostatic latent image on the drum surface that matchesthe optically scanned image from the sheet of document S or matches animage defined by a print job sent to printer 10.

Before the electrostatic latent image is formed on drum 60, the entiresurface of drum 60 is uniformly charged by charging assembly 64. Next,the electrostatic charge on portions of the surface of drum 60 isneutralized by laser beam B which is scanned onto the surface of drum 60according to the image data obtained from image reading assembly 12 or aprint job sent to printer 10. The neutralized areas of drum 60 form theelectrostatic latent image.

Still referring to FIG. 2, image forming assembly 16 uses theelectrostatic latent image on photoreceptor drum 60 to form a matchingtoner image on printing media P taken from one of trays 92, 94, 96.Developing assembly 65 delivers charged toner particles to photoreceptordrum 60. The toner particles adhere only to the electrostatic latentimage. That is, the toner particles adhere only to areas of the surfaceof drum 60 where laser beam B has neutralized the electrostatic chargepreviously applied by charging assembly 64. Image forming assembly 16also includes various rollers 66 that convey printing media P to drum60. The toner particles on drum 60 are transferred by transfer assembly67 onto printing media P. The toner particles adhere to printing media Pso that printing media P now carries a toner image that matches theoptically scanned image from the sheet of document S or matches an imagedefined by a print job sent to printer 10.

Separation assembly 68 separates printing media P from photoreceptordrum 60. Separation assembly 68 may include a rotating roller that pullsprinting media P from drum 60. Next, cleaning assembly 70, which mayinclude a flexible scraper blade, removes any residual toner on drum 60to create a cleaned surface so that uniform charging of drum 60 bycharging assembly 64 can be repeated.

After printing media P is separated from photoreceptor drum 60, printingmedia P is conveyed by conveyance mechanism 72 to fixing assembly 74.Conveyance mechanism 72 includes a plurality of rollers which rotate alooped belt. Fixing assembly 74 includes rollers 76 configured to applypressure and heat to printing media P. The pressure and heat fixes thetoner image onto printing media P. Thereafter, printing media P isejected by rollers 78 of ejection assembly 20 out of housing 98.Printing media P is ejected out of output slot 81 and onto output tray82 attached to housing 98. Stapler 83 is located at output slot 81 andis configured to apply a staple according to print settings specified bythe user.

Transfer of a toner image from photoreceptor drum 60 onto printing mediaP can be performed for both sides of printing media P. After the tonerimage is fixed on one side of printing media P, printing media P isconveyed to printing media reversing assembly 22 which includes pivotingguide device 84 that switches the conveying path of printing media Pbetween the printing media reversing assembly 22 and printing mediaejection assembly 20. When guide device 84 is in a reversing position,printing media P is conveyed downward as indicated by arrow 85, insteadof be conveyed through output slot 81. Printing media P is conveyed byrollers 86 to reversing area 88. After printing media P has moved intoreversing area 88 by a predetermined amounted, rollers 86 rotate in theopposite direction to convey printing media P in a reverse directionindicated by arrow 89. Printing media P travels through reverseconveyance path 91 and arrives at the upstream side of drum 60 onceagain. This time, the opposite side of printing media P faces drum 60and is subjected to toner image transfer and fixing in the same mannerpreviously described.

Still referring to FIG. 2, trays 92, 94, 96 are configured to storeprinting media P of different sizes and orientations. Printing mediaconveyance assembly 18 includes rollers 102 that convey printing media Pfrom trays 92, 94, 96 to photoreceptor drum 60. Each of trays 92, 94, 96includes floor 104 that raises printing media P into contact withrollers 102.

Exemplary sizes for printing media P include letter-sized paper havingdimensions of 8.5 inches×11 inches (21.6 cm×27.9 cm) and legal-sizedpaper having dimensions of 8.5 inches×14 inches (21.6 cm×35.6 cm). Thepossible orientations are a long edge feed (LEF) direction and a shortedge feed (SEF) direction. The LEF and SEF directions refer to theorientation of printing media P as it is fed through printer 10.

For printing media P that is letter-sized paper, orientation in the LEFdirection means that the paper sheet is oriented such that its long edge(i.e., the 11 inch or 27.9 cm edge) is fed first or leads the way alongconveying path 90 to photoreceptor drum 60. The long edge isperpendicular to the feed direction along conveying path 90.

For letter-sized and legal-sized papers, orientation in the SEFdirection means that the paper sheet is oriented such that its shortedge (i.e., the 8.5 inch or 21.6 cm edge) is fed first or leads the wayalong conveying path 90 to photoreceptor drum 60. The short edge isperpendicular to the feed direction along conveying path 90.

As shown in FIG. 3, first tray 92 is configured to store a stack ofletter-sized paper 93 oriented in the LEF direction. Second tray 94 isconfigured to store a stack of legal-sized paper 95 oriented in the SEFdirection. Third tray 96 is configured to store a stack of letter-sizedpaper 97 oriented in the SEF direction.

The designation of trays as “first,” “second,” and “third” is arbitrary,and the order and arrangement of the trays may be modified. Referringagain to FIG. 1, first tray 92 may instead be located in the middleposition within printer housing 98, and second tray 94 may be locatedbelow or above first tray 92. As a further example, first tray 92 mayinstead be located at the bottom position within printer housing 98, andsecond tray 94 may be located at the middle or top position. Otherarrangements for the trays are possible.

In FIG. 4, one or more of trays 92, 94, 96 may have walls 99, 100 thatare fixed and not adjustable in position, such that the tray isconfigured to hold only one size of printing media P in one particularorientation. In this context, the tray in FIG. 4 can be any one of trays92, 94, 96 and be configured to hold only letter-sized paper orientedonly in the LEF direction.

Alternatively, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, one or more of trays 92,94, 96 may have walls 99, 100 that are movable on a rail and can befixed at a position desired by the user. In this context, walls 99, 100can be moved from the positions shown in FIG. 4 to the positions shownin FIG. 5. Movable walls 99, 100 allow the tray is be adjusted to hold adesired paper size in a desired orientation. For example, walls 99, 100of the tray may be adjusted so that the tray is configured to storeletter-sized paper oriented in the LEF direction as shown in FIG. 4.Later, walls 99, 100 may be adjusted so that the tray is configured tostore letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction as shown in FIG.5.

Referring now to FIG. 6, system 108 comprises printer 10 incommunication with host computer 110. Host computer 110 may be acomputer workstation, personal computer, laptop computer, tablet,smartphone, or other data processing apparatus. Host computer 110 mayinclude printer driver 111, which is software that receives data andconverts the received data to a format that can be used by printer 10for printing. Optionally, host computer 110 may be running a wordprocessing, graphics, or other computer program which generates the datathat is received and converted by printer driver 111. The computerprogram may have a print function that utilizes printer driver 111.

Communication between printer 10 and host computer 110 is achievedthrough network 120 that may include wired and wireless communicationmeans known in the art. For example, network 120 may comprise any one ora combination of a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),portions of the Internet, and telephone communication carriers. Network120 is used by host computer 110 to send a print job to printer 10.Printer 10 may use network 120 to send computer 110 information aboutthe status of the print job.

As shown in FIG. 6, host computer 110 includes elements interconnectedby communication bus 112. The elements include central processing unit(CPU) 113, memory 114, input unit 115, display unit 116, and networkinterface (I/F) 117.

CPU 113 includes one or more computer processors having circuitry thatexecutes instructions of computer programs, such as a printer driver foruse with printer 10. CPU 113, which can be referred to as a “hostprocessor,” is configured to perform various methods and processesdescribed herein by executing instructions. Instructions executed by CPU113 include those required for the process of FIG. 16.

Memory 114 includes one or a combination of non-volatile and volatilememory storage devices. Exemplary storage devices include withoutlimitation random-access memory (RAM) modules and read-only memory (ROM)modules, as well as optical, magnetic, and solid-state flash storagedevices. Printer driver 111 is stored in memory 114. Instructionsrequired for the process of FIG. 16 may also be stored in memory 114.Input unit 115 allows the user to enter data and interact with hostcomputer 110.

Input unit 115 includes one or a combination of a keypad with buttonsand a touch-sensitive screen which are configured to receive user input,such as print settings for a print job. Display unit 116 is configuredto display print settings and can be a liquid crystal display or othertype of electronic visual display device. Network I/F 117 includescircuitry configured to allow data transfer to and from printer 10 vianetwork 120.

Still referring to FIG. 6, various elements of printer 10 areinterconnected by communication bus 210. The elements include networkinterface (I/F) 202, central processing unit (CPU) 203, memory 204,input unit 205, display unit 206, image reading assembly 12, imagewriting assembly 14, image forming assembly 16, printing mediaconveyance assembly 18, stapler 83, and printing media trays 92, 94, 96.

Network I/F 202 includes circuitry configured to allow data transfer toand from host computer 110 via network 120. CPU 203 includes one or morecomputer processors having circuitry that executes instructions. CPU203, also referred to as a “printer processor,” is configured to performvarious methods and processes described herein by executinginstructions. Instructions executed by CPU 203 include those required tooperate, control, and/or coordinate the various assemblies andcomponents of printer 10 described above. Such instructions arecollectively referred to as printer controller program 207.

Memory 204 includes one or a combination of non-volatile and volatilememory storage devices. Exemplary storage devices include withoutlimitation RAM modules and ROM modules, as well as optical, magnetic,and solid-state flash storage devices. Memory 204 may store printercontroller program 207 and/or others which when executed, causes printer10 to perform the methods and processes described herein.

Input unit 205 and display unit 206 may form parts of display/controlpanel 11 (FIG. 1). Input unit 205 includes one or a combination of akeypad with buttons and a touch-sensitive screen which are configured toreceive user input, such as print settings for a copy job. Display unit206 is configured to display print settings and can be a liquid crystaldisplay or other type of electronic visual display device. When inputunit 205 includes a touch-sensitive screen, the touch sensitive screenmay be layered over display unit 206 to facilitate user selection ofprint settings.

Stapler 83 is coupled to CPU 203 to enable stapling of an outputdocument based to print settings. Paper trays 92, 94, 96 may includesensors, such as mechanical arms or optical switches, that detect theprinting media size and/or orientation within each tray. Such sensorsmay be needed if walls 99, 100 of the tray are adjustable. Additionallyor alternatively, the sensors may detect whether the tray is empty or ina pulled-out position. Information from the sensors is provided to CPU203 to allow for proper selection of trays.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary print setting window 122 that allows the userto specify print settings for a print job. Window 122 includes variousmenus to allow the user to specify the tray from which printing mediawill be taken and to specify whether the user desires stapling to beperformed on the printing media as part of a finishing process. Byselecting one of the available trays, the user may require printing of aprint job to be performed using a specific tray containing a knownprinting media size and orientation. By selecting “Auto” (auto trayselection), the user allows printer 10 to automatically select theprinting media size and orientation that is most appropriate for theprint job.

Printer 10 may be designed to minimize print processing time, as will bediscussed later, by preferentially selecting the long edge of printingmedia P to be the feeding edge (i.e., the edge that leads the way alongconveying path 90) when a particular printing media size is stored inboth SEF and LEF orientations. Thus, when the “Auto” (auto trayselection) has been chosen in FIG. 7 and letter-sized paper is stored inthe LEF direction in first tray 92 and stored in the SEF direction inthird tray 96, printer 10 will use printing media P obtained from firsttray 92 for printing a letter-sized image. Alternatively, printer 10will obtain printing media P from third tray 96 if the user has chosen“Tray 3” in FIG. 7.

Print setting window 122 may include a variety of graphical userinterface (GUI) elements to allow selection of print settings. Forexample, a selection check box 124 may be activated by the user tospecify that stapling is desired. Selection arrow-buttons 126 may beactivated by the user to select a printing media tray setting and staplemode. A staple mode refers to the position and, optionally, the numberof staples on an output document. Inclusion of a staple mode in a printsetting means that stapling is desired by the user. An OK button 128 maybe activated by the user to apply the selected print settings.

Printer driver 111 executed by CPU 113 of host computer 110 may causeprint setting window 122 to be displayed on display unit 116 of hostcomputer 110. For example, when a user wishes to print an image fromhost computer 110, print setting window 122 will allow the user to applyprint settings for the print job that will be sent from host computer110 to printer 10.

Software executed by CPU 203 of printer 10 may cause print settingwindow 122 to be displayed on display unit 206 of printer 10. Forexample, when a user wishes to copy a document which has been placed onsheet input tray 42 or platen 30, print setting window 122 will allowthe user to establish print settings for creating the output documentthat will provided on output tray 82.

Printer 10 is configured to select the printing media having theappropriate size from a corresponding tray 92, 94, or 96. This isreferred to as tray selection. Printer 10 may use various factors fortray selection. An exemplary selection factor is minimization of printprocessing time. To minimize print processing time, printer 10 maydefault to selecting paper oriented in the LEF direction in somesituations. With paper oriented in the LEF direction, the linear amountof paper, as measured along conveying path 90, that must pass acrossphotoreceptor drum 60 is based on the short edge of the paper. Thus, thelinear amount will be reduced as compared to paper oriented in the SEFdirection. With this reduction, it may be possible for more sheets ofpaper to be printed within a given amount of time. Other tray selectionfactors involve print settings as discussed in the following examples.

FIG. 8 shows examples of possible tray selection processes for printjobs performed by printer 10 according to the factors mentioned above.The input sheet size refers the sheet size that is provided to printer10. For a copy job, input sheet size refers to the physical sheet sizesof the pages of document S that are fed through printer 10. For a printjob sent from host computer 110, input sheet size refers to the detectedsheet sizes of images defined in the print job for an electronicdocument. “Letter” means that the input sheet size for the entire printjob is exclusively letter size having dimensions of 8.5 inches×11 inches(21.6 cm×27.9 cm). “Legal” means that the input sheet size for theentire print job is exclusively legal size having dimensions of 8.5inches×14 inches (21.6 cm×35.6 cm). “Legal and Letter” means that theinput sheet sizes for the entire print job are a mixture of letter sizeand legal size. The printer output could be provided to the user withthe front surface of the sheets facing down on output tray 82 (FIG. 2).Thus, the printer output illustrated in the far-right column of FIG. 8shows the resulting document facing down, as symbolized by the reversedletter B. Stapler 83 is shown in the far-right column to indicate theedge of the output document that is located next to printer output slot81.

In Example 1, the entire print job is letter size and the user wants theprinter output to be stapled on the left corner. Printer 10 selectsletter-sized printing media P oriented in the LEF direction which iscontained in first tray 92. This selection allows the left corner to belocated by stapler 83 at output slot 81 (FIG. 2). Printer 10 selectsfirst tray 92 even when the short edge of document sheets are fed intoprinter 10 for a copy job. This tray selection process with imagerotation (discussed later) allows staple 106 to be placed on the topleft corner as required by the staple mode in the print setting.

In Example 2, the entire print job is letter size, and the user hasselected auto tray selection and no stapling. With auto tray selection,the user has allowed printer 10 to automatically select the printingmedia size and orientation deemed most appropriate by the printer forthe print job. Printer 10 selects letter-sized printing media P orientedin the LEF direction which is contained in first tray 92. This selectionis made to try to minimize print processing time, as previouslydiscussed. Even when the short edges of document sheets are fed intoprinter 10 for a copy job, printer 10 selects first tray 92 to try tominimize print processing time.

In Example 3, the entire print job is legal size, and the user wants theprinter output to be stapled on the left corner. Legal-sized printingmedia P is stored only in the SEF direction within in printer 10,specifically in second tray 94. Therefore, printer 10 selectslegal-sized printing media P oriented in the SEF direction contained insecond tray 94. This tray selection process with image rotation(discussed later) allows staple 106 to be placed on the top left corneras required by the staple mode in the print setting.

In Example 4, the entire print job is legal size, and the user hasselected auto tray selection and no stapling. Printer 10 selectslegal-sized printing media P oriented in the SEF direction contained insecond tray 94 since this is the only choice.

In Example 5, the print job is a mix of letter and legal size, and theuser wants the printer output to be stapled on the left corner. Thissituation may arise, for example, when a job is related to a real estateescrow file, which will sometimes include a mixture of paper sizes. Forexample, pages 1-4 and 6 could be legal size and pages 5 and 7 could beletter size as shown in FIG. 9. For legal size pages, printer 10 selectssecond tray 94 since this is the only choice. For letter size pages,printer 10 selects letter-sized printing media P oriented in the SEFdirection so that the top left corner of all output sheets are alignedfor stapling.

In Example 6, the print job is a mix of letter and legal size, and theuser has selected auto tray selection and no stapling. For legal sizepages, printer 10 selects second tray 94 since this is the only choice.For letter size pages, printer 10 could select letter-sized printingmedia P oriented in the LEF direction which is contained in first tray92. This selection could be made to try to minimize print processingtime, but the resulting printer output would have pages having longedges oriented vertically mixed with pages having long edges orientedhorizontally. For clarity, the pages of the output document are shownseparately in FIG. 10. (The reversed letter B symbolizes that the outputdocument is facing down, as may be provided to the user on output tray82 of FIG. 2.) This mixture of orientations can make subsequent filingof the output document difficult, and may require the user to manuallyrearrange the pages so that all the long edges are aligned.

Example 7 addresses the difficulties discussed with Example 6. InExample 7, again the print job is a mix of letter and legal size, andthe user has selected auto tray selection and no stapling. For legalsize pages, printer 10 selects second tray 94 since this is the onlychoice. For letter size pages, printer 10 selects letter-sized printingmedia P oriented in the SEF direction which is contained in third tray96. This selection is made to avoid the mixture of orientations in theoutput document. The resulting printer output would have the long edgesof all pages aligned. For clarity, the pages of the output document areshown separately in FIG. 11. (The reversed letter B symbolizes that theoutput document is facing down, as may be provided to the user on outputtray 82 of FIG. 2.) There is no need for the user to manually rearrangethe pages, which can save a significant amount of time such as in highvolume printing operations. Compared to Example 6, Example 7 could beviewed as placing greater priority on avoiding the mixture oforientations in the output document than on trying to minimizing printprocessing time.

As will be discussed in detail below, rotation of image data can beperformed so that printer 10 can handle various print settings. On onehand, it may be desirable to avoid image rotation for the most commonsituations since image rotation requires the use of greater computingresources and, thus, may adversely affect printing throughput. On theother hand, using printing media oriented in the LEF direction isphysically efficient in that it reduces the linear amount of paper, asmeasured along conveying path 90, that must travel across photoreceptordrum 60. To help minimize print processing time, printer 10 can beoptimized for the most common input image orientation and for the mostphysically efficient printing media orientation. That is, printer 10 canbe configured in such a way that rotation of image data is not requiredfor a situation in which the input image is oriented in portrait modeand a matching toner image is to be formed on printing media P orientedin the LEF direction. However, in Example 7, printer 10 uses printingmedia P oriented in the SEF direction, which means that rotation of theimage data may have to be performed in some situations.

Referring again to FIG. 9, the letter B symbolizes the image, which inreality can be any one or a combination of a photograph, picture,illustration, string of alphanumeric and linguistic characters, symbol,and other graphical representation. The orientation of the letter Brelative to the edges of the paper sheet indicates that the input imageis in portrait mode for all pages (letter- and legal-sized) of a printjob. Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 11, recall that in Example 7 printer10 has selected trays which provide printing media P oriented in the SEFdirection. If printer 10 is configured for no rotation of a portraitmode input image when printing media P is oriented in the LEF direction,then printer 10 must rotate a portrait mode input image when printingmedia P is oriented in the SEF direction. In such a case, CPU 203 ofprinter 10 may apply a rotational transformation algorithm on the imagedata (corresponding to FIG. 9, for example) so that the image data arerotated. Next, the rotated image data are used to form an electrostaticlatent image on photoreceptor drum 60 so that a correctly oriented tonerimage is transferred on printing media P (corresponding to FIG. 11, forexample).

As shown in FIG. 12, it is possible for mixed sheet sizes to have inputimages (also referred to as “image data”) which are not in portrait modefor all pages (letter- and legal-sized) as it was in FIG. 9. The imagedata of mixed sheet size print jobs can be in landscape mode entirely ora mix of portrait and landscape modes. FIG. 12 illustrates variousorientation combinations of first image data for a legal-sized page ofthe print job and second image data for a letter-sized page of the printjob.

As used herein with image data, the terms “first” and “second” arearbitrary and do not define the sequential position of pages. The firstimage data could be for a legal-sized page (for example, page 1 of adocument) and the second image data could be a subsequent letter-sizedpage (for example, page 2 of the document), as shown in FIG. 12.Alternatively, the first image data could be for a legal-sized page (forexample, page 15 of a document) and the second image data could be for aprevious letter-sized page (for example, page 13 of the document).

The phrase “orientation combination” refers to orientations based onportrait mode and landscape mode. Portrait mode is when thetop-to-bottom direction of the image data is parallel to the long edgeof the page, and the left-to-right direction of the image data isparallel to the short edge of the page. Landscape mode is when thetop-to-bottom direction of the image data is parallel to the short edgeof the page, and the left-to-right direction of the image data isparallel to the long edge of the page. For example, image data are inportrait mode when the image data contains English text predominantlyhaving a left-to-right direction that is parallel to the short edge ofthe page. As a further example, image data are in portrait mode when theimage data contains an architectural drawing having a top-to-bottomdirection that is parallel to the long edge of the page. The orientationcombination may be determined by the printer processor from any one or acombination of encoding contained in the print job and performance bythe printer processor of an optical character recognition (OCR) processon the image data.

In Example 7A of FIG. 12, the orientation combination is portrait modefor both first image data for a legal-sized page of the print job andsecond image data for a letter-sized page of the print job. Example 7Acorresponds to the situation previously discussed, in which image dataare in portrait mode for all letter- and legal-sized pages of a printjob, as shown in FIG. 9. As a result, image data are rotated 90 degreesby CPU 203 before being used to form matching images on legal-sized SEFand letter-sized SEF printing media P. This process results in adesirable arrangement in which left edges (see broken lines) of allportrait output images are aligned in the output document when viewedfrom the front.

In Example 7B, the orientation combination is landscape mode for bothfirst image data for a legal-sized page of the print job and secondimage data for a letter-sized page of the print job. This can bereferred to as landscape input to SEF output. As previously discussed,portrait input to LEF output requires no image rotation by default,potentially so that printer 10 is optimized for the most common inputimage orientation (portrait) and for the most physically efficientprinting media orientation (LEF). In the case of portrait input to LEFoutput, the horizontal (left-to-right) direction in the input image isparallel to the printing media feed direction along conveying path 90.The same is true in the case of landscape input to SEF output in Example7B, so no image rotation is required for Example 7B. In addition, thisprocess results in a desirable arrangement in which top edges (seebroken lines) of all landscape output images are aligned in thelandscape output document when viewed from the front.

In Example 7C, the orientation combination is portrait mode for firstimage data for a legal-sized page of the print job and landscape modefor second image data for a letter-sized page of the print job. Theportrait mode image data for a legal-sized page are rotated 90 degreesbefore being used to form a matching image on legal-sized SEF printingmedia P, similar to Example 7A. The landscape mode image data for aletter-sized page is handled differently than Example 7B since it isusually desired to have the top edge (see broken line) of theletter-sized landscape output image aligned with the left edge (seebroken line) of the legal-sized portrait output image. Thus, landscapemode image data for a letter-sized page are rotated 180 degrees beforebeing used to print on letter-sized SEF printing media P.

In Example 7D, the orientation combination is landscape mode for firstimage data for a legal-sized page of the print job and portrait mode forsecond image data for a letter-sized page of the print job. It is notnecessary to rotate the landscape mode image data for the same reasonsgiven in Example 7B. It is usually desired to have the top edge (seebroken line) of the legal-sized landscape output image aligned with theleft edge (see broken line) of the letter-sized portrait output image.Thus, portrait mode image data for a letter-sized page are rotatedbefore being used to print on letter-sized SEF printing media P.

The rotation determination column of FIG. 12 is based in part on adefault configuration of printer 10 in which portrait input to LEFoutput requires no image rotation. The default configuration of printer10 may be different. For example, the default configuration of printer10 may be such that portrait input to SEF output in Example 7A requiresno image rotation, in which case the rotation column for Examples 7B-7Cmay be altered to provide the desired printer output result.

FIGS. 13A-13C show an exemplary process for printing that may beperformed by printer 10 or another printer. At S300 a printer processordetermines whether a print job has been received, such as from a hostcomputer or other data processing apparatus. An exemplary printerprocessor is CPU 203 of printer 10. If no print job has been received(S300: NO), the printer processor may continue to monitor for receipt ofa print job. If a print job has been received (S300: YES), the printerprocessor determines at S302 whether stapling will, in fact, beperformed according to a print setting for the print job. Even if theprint setting specifies stapling, stapling will not be performed if, forexample, the staple mode requires two staples (referred to as doublestapling) spaced apart along a long edge of a legal-sized sheet butprinter 10 stores legal-sized printing media P only in the SEFdirection. Other situation may occur in which the print settingspecifies stapling but printer 10 is unable to perform stapling.

If stapling will, in fact, be performed (S302: YES), then the printerprocessor proceeds with printing at S304 according to the printsettings. For example, the printer processor may print the print job ofExamples 1, 3, and 5 of FIG. 8. If stapling will not be performed (S302:NO), then the printer processor determines at S306 whether auto trayselection has been entered by the user. If auto tray selection has notbeen entered (S306: NO), then the printer processor proceeds withprinting at S304 according to the print settings. If auto tray selectionhas been entered (S306: YES), then the printer processor determines atS308 whether the print job has a mix of legal and letter sheet sizes. Ifthe input sheet sizes are mixed (S308: YES), the process continues toFIG. 13B. If the input sheet sizes are not mixed (S308: NO), the processcontinues to FIG. 13C. A difference between FIGS. 13B and 13C is theselection of a letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction (FIG.13B, S116) versus the LEF direction (FIG. 13C, S330).

Referring to FIG. 13B, after the printer processor has determined thatinput sheet sizes are mixed, the printer processor determines at S310whether image rotation is necessary. The determination at S310 can beperformed according to an orientation combination of first and secondimage data as described for any one or more of the examples of FIG. 12,or it can be performed according to another method. If image rotation isnecessary (S310: YES), the printer processor proceeds to rotate theimage at S312, and then determines at S314 whether the current image isletter-sized. If image rotation is not necessary (S310: NO), the printerprocessor proceeds directly to S314 to determine whether the currentimage is letter-sized. If the image is letter-sized (S314: YES), theprinter processor selects a tray at S316 that is known containletter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction. If the image is notletter-sized (S314: NO), the printer processor selects a tray at S318that is known contain legal-sized paper. After making the tray selectionat S316 or S318, the printer processor causes the image to be printed atS320 using the paper obtained from the selected tray. Next, the printerprocessor determines at S322 whether there are any pages in the printjob which have not yet been printed. If there are un-printed pages(S322: YES), the printer processor obtains the image for the next pageand returns to S310 to repeat the process for the next page. If thereare no un-printed pages (S322: NO), the present process could end.

Referring to FIG. 13C, after the printer processor has determined thatinput sheet sizes are not mixed (i.e., the input sheet size for allpages of a job are either letter-sized or legal-sized), the printerprocessor determines at S324 whether image rotation is necessary. Thedetermination at S324 can be performed according to an orientationcombination of first and second image data as described for any one ormore of the examples of FIG. 12, or it can be performed according toanother method. If image rotation is necessary (S324: YES), the printerprocessor proceeds to rotate the image at S326, and then determines atS328 whether the current image is letter-sized. If image rotation is notnecessary (S324: NO), the printer processor proceeds directly to S328 todetermine whether the current image is letter-sized. If the image isletter-sized (S328: YES), the printer processor selects a tray at S330that is known contain letter-sized paper oriented in the LEF direction.If the image is not letter-sized (S328: NO), the printer processorselects a tray at S332 that is known contain legal-sized paper. Aftermaking the tray selection at S330 or S332, the printer processor causesthe image to be printed at S334 using the paper obtained from theselected tray. Next, the printer determines at S336 whether there areany pages in the print job which have not yet been printed. If there areun-printed pages (S336: YES), the printer processor obtains the imagefor the next page and returns to S324 to repeat the process for the nextpage. If there are no un-printed pages (S336: NO), the present processcould end.

Referring again to FIG. 13B, by selecting letter-sized paper oriented inthe SEF direction at S316, it is possible to avoid a mixture of sheetorientations in the output document. As previously discussed, a mixtureof sheet orientations in the output document can make subsequent filingof the output document difficult, and may require the user to manuallyrearrange the pages so that all the long edges are aligned. However,selecting letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction may increaseprint processing time since the linear amount of paper, as measuredalong conveying path to a photoreceptor drum, will now be based on thelong edge of the paper. Therefore, it could be advantageous to provide aquery to the user after determining at S308 (FIG. 13A) that input sheetsizes are a mixture of letter and legal size (S308: YES) but beforeproceeding to FIG. 13B.

FIG. 14 shows a variation of FIG. 13A which implements the querydiscussed above. FIG. 14 is the same as FIG. 13A except for the additionof blocks S338 and S340. The printer processor determines at S308whether the print job has a mix of legal and letter sheet sizes. If theinput sheet sizes are not mixed (S308: NO), the process continues toFIG. 13C. If the input sheet sizes are mixed (S308: YES), the printerprocessor executes at S338 a query that includes displaying anotification and receiving the user's instruction.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary query window 342 which includes notificationtext 344 that asks whether the user will allow letter-sized paperoriented in the SEF direction to be used. Window 342 is displayed ondisplay unit 206, which may have a touch-sensitive input screen layer205 covering it. Window 342 includes GUI elements, such as YES and NObuttons 346. The user provides the printer processor with a userinstruction by pushing either the YES or NO button to indicate whetherthe user allows use of letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction.

Referring again to FIG. 14, the printer processor receives the userinstruction at S338 and then determines at S340 whether the user hasallowed the use of letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction. Ifthe user allowed it (S340: YES), the process continues to FIG. 13B. Ifthe user has not allowed it (S340: NO), the process continues to FIG.13C instead.

FIG. 16 shows an exemplary process for printing that may be performed byhost computer 110 or another data processing apparatus in communicationwith printer 10 or another printer. At S350, the host processor receivesvarious print settings. An exemplary host processor is CPU 113 of hostcomputer 110 executing print driver 111. Print settings can be receivedvia print setting window 122 of FIG. 7, for example. At S352, the hostprocessor determines whether the user has finished entering all printsettings. If no, the host processor continues to receive print settings.If yes, the host processor determines at S354 whether the print settingsinclude a staple mode selection. If the print settings include a staplemode selection (S354: YES), the host processor sends the print job withprint settings to the printer at S356, after which the present processcould end.

If instead the print settings do not include a stapling selection (S354:NO), the host processor determines at S358 whether the print settingsinclude an auto tray selection. If the print settings do not include anauto tray selection (S358: NO), the host processor sends the printsettings to the printer at S356, after which the present process mayend.

If instead the print settings include an auto tray selection (S358:YES), the host processor executes at S360 a query that includesdisplaying a notification and receiving the user's instruction.

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary query window 362 for S360 in FIG. 16. Window362 is displayed before the print job is sent to a printer. Window 362includes notification text 364 that asks whether the user will allowletter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction to be used. Window 362is displayed on display unit 116, which may have touch-sensitive inputscreen layer 115 covering it. Window 362 includes GUI elements, such asYES and NO buttons 366. The user provides the host processor with a userinstruction by pushing either the YES or NO button in indicate that theuser allows the user of letter-sized paper oriented in the SEFdirection.

Referring again to FIG. 16, the printer processor receives the userinstruction at S360 and then sends at S368 the received user instructionand the print job with print settings to the printer, after which thepresent process could end.

Note that in the process of FIG. 16, a user instruction regarding use ofletter-sized SEF has been provided to the printer along with the printsettings for the print job. Thus, when the printer is handling the printjob, there is no need for the printer to display a notification aboutthe use of letter-sized SEF, as was done in S338 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 18 shows an alternative to FIGS. 13A and 14, which are processesthat can be performed by the printer processor. FIG. 18 is the same asFIGS. 13A and 14 up to S308. If the input sheet sizes are mixed (S308:YES), the printer processor determines at S370 whether the user hasallowed letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction to be used. Thedetermination at S370 can be made from a user instruction that was sentwith the print settings, such as in S368 of FIG. 16. If the user allowedit (S370: YES), the process continues to FIG. 13B. If the user has notallowed it (S370: NO), the process continues to FIG. 13C instead.

As previously mentioned, the invention may be embodied in or make use ofanother type of MFP device, copy machine, or printing machine. Forexample, the printer may have a photoreceptor drum that places the tonerimage on a transfer belt, and then the transfer belt applies the tonerimage to the printing media obtained from the trays. The printer may beconfigured to form color images on the printing media, such as byforming a plurality toner images separately for various process colors,such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black for CMYK printing, followed bycombining the toner images on printing media sheet or a transfer belt.

While several particular forms of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will also be apparent that various modifications canbe made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is alsocontemplated that various combinations or subcombinations of thespecific features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can becombined with or substituted for one another in order to form varyingmodes of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that theinvention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product embodied on anon-transitory computer readable medium having a computer readableprogram code stored therein for controlling a data processing apparatuscapable of communicating with a printer comprising a first trayconfigured to store letter-sized paper oriented in a long edge feed(LEF) direction, a second tray configured to store letter-sized paperoriented in a short edge feed (SEF) direction, and a third trayconfigured to store legal-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction, thecomputer readable program code causing the data processing apparatus toexecute a process for submitting a print job to the printer, the processcomprising: determining whether an auto tray selection has been set forthe print job; determining whether a staple mode has been set for theprint job; and providing a user notification when it has been determinedthat both the auto-tray selection has been set for the print job and thestaple mode has not been set for the print job, the user notificationindicating that letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction andobtained from the second tray may be used by the printer for the printjob.
 2. The computer program product embodied on the non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the process furthercomprises submitting to the printer, the user instruction and the printjob in which auto tray selection and staple mode have not been set. 3.The computer program product embodied on the non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 2, wherein the process further comprisesreceiving a user instruction after providing the user notification, theuser instruction indicating whether the user has allowed letter-sizedpages of the print job to be printed on letter-sized paper oriented inthe SEF direction and obtained from the second tray.
 4. The computerprogram product embodied on the non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 3, wherein the process further comprises submitting to theprinter, the user instruction and the print job in which auto trayselection and staple mode have not been set.
 5. The computer programproduct embodied on the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim1, wherein the process further comprises receiving a user instructionafter providing the user notification, the user instruction indicatingwhether the user has allowed letter-sized pages of the print job to beprinted on letter-sized paper oriented in the SEF direction and obtainedfrom the second tray.
 6. The computer program product embodied on thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the processfurther comprises submitting to the printer, the user instruction andthe print job in which auto tray selection and staple mode have not beenset.